honest-to-goodness heavyweight title fight today

[mgsooner]

In less than 3 hours Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye face off in the most (and pretty much only) significant heavyweight fight since at least 2004. The fight is in Hamburg and will be televised live by HBO at 3:45 CST. They'll show a replay of the fight later this evening.

-lDZhnxAwS0

[EnragedOUfan]

I'll be setting this on my DVR to record. That Face Off was awesome, at times I thought Klitschko was going to reach across the table and rip out Haye's adams apple. There's a lot of hatred between the two going into this fight. I would like to see the upset (Haye) but then seeing Haye get TKOed would be nice as well......

[mgsooner]

I've never seen Klitschko act like that. It's real-life scary, not pre-fight hype antics.

[Blue]

Klitchko is freakin huge.

[Collier11]

Klitcschko is one of the better heavyweights that never gets talked about

[Turd_Ferguson]

Klitcschko is one of the better heavyweights that never gets talked aboutConcur.

[Blue]

Klitcschko is one of the better heavyweights that never gets talked about

Him and Vitali are really the only heavyweights. I wish somebody from the US would step up.

[MojoRisen]

Who won?

[Blue]

Who won?


Spoiler alert






















Klitch. It was very boring.

[nighttrain12]

I'll give Klit credit for banging actress Hayden Panettiere (or however the hell you spell it) though I wonder if he about broke her in half considering how small (but cute as hell) she is.

[mgsooner]

Him and Vitali are really the only heavyweights. I wish somebody from the US would step up.

Don't hold your breath. There is not a single American heavyweight anywhere on the landscape that is a legitimate challenge to the klitschko's. If Vitali dominates Adamek in September the way Wlad dominated Haye, then you can pretty much forget about the heavyweight division for another 5 years, at least.

[nighttrain12]

We need a Great White (AMERICAN) Hope to come in and save boxing.

[Mongo]

boxing is dead. too many different titles(isnt there 4 different heavyweight belts?)

mma>>>boxing

[Peach Fuzz]

^^ yeah I decided to watch UFC last night instead... smart move

[Turd_Ferguson]

I like UFC as much as the next guy, but I still enjoy a good boxing match.

[Fish&Game]

boxing is dead. too many different titles(isnt there 4 different heavyweight belts?)

mma>>>boxingKlitschko's crew was showin' off 4 different belts after the fight last night...is there more?

[Mongo]

Klitschko's crew was showin' off 4 different belts after the fight last night...is there more?

wiki'ed it. there are six, but he 4 most common are WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. I guess Klit has all four of the major ones

[Collier11]

The problem with boxing is that they need one so called league with one belt, the big issue is that boxing doesnt market their fighters that well and no one knows who the hell is in all of the divisions. I could name you 50 or more UFC fighters, probably 15 boxers...maybe

[nighttrain12]

Klitschko's crew was showin' off 4 different belts after the fight last night...is there more?

Him and his bro Vitali have all of them for the Heavyweight division. They promised their momma though that they would never fight each other.

I wonder if they at least spar with each other?

[mgsooner]

boxing is dead. too many different titles(isnt there 4 different heavyweight belts?)

mma>>>boxing

It always amuses me when people say this. Manny Pacquiao earned over $30 million for his last fight. How much did Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, etc, etc, earn for their last fight? Hint: it's not even 10% of $30 million. So how is boxing "dead" then? Where's the money coming from?

[mgsooner]

The problem with boxing is that they need one so called league with one belt, the big issue is that boxing doesnt market their fighters that well and no one knows who the hell is in all of the divisions. I could name you 50 or more UFC fighters, probably 15 boxers...maybe

Boxing's business model = great for the fighters.

MMA's business model = great for Dana White and the Fertitta Brothers.

I will be honest, the MMA model is great for the fans. I have a feeling though that some day the fighters are going to wake up, realize they're getting royally f*cked every day of their lives, and things will have to change. The "my way or the highway" model has worked great for Dana thus far, and they have done an outstanding job of just buying out their competition, but as the sport grows in popularity eventually there will be competitors that DO survive and won't need to take the UFC's money.

[Mongo]

It always amuses me when people say this. Manny Pacquiao earned over $30 million for his last fight. How much did Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, etc, etc, earn for their last fight? Hint: it's not even 10% of $30 million. So how is boxing "dead" then? Where's the money coming from?

I have no idea why there is that much money in boxing, but I am think fans are gravitating more to mma just for more excitement. Why was a heavy weight title fight free on HBO?

you are right that UFC is set up more for White to make money and that the fighters need to revolt to earn more of the pie.

[royalfan5]

I have no idea why there is that much money in boxing, but I am think fans are gravitating more to mma just for more excitement. Why was a heavy weight title fight free on HBO?

you are right that UFC is set up more for White to make money and that the fighters need to revolt to earn more of the pie.

Well, Boxing is much bigger internationally and amongst the ethnic folk. A mid-level pro boxing card was able to sell out an 8K arena in the middle of Nebraska in a meat packing town.

[mgsooner]

The heavyweight fight was free on HBO because it was being held in Germany and shown on PPV throughout Europe. By all accounts Klitschko and Haye each earned over $15 million from this fight, which again absolutely destroys any salary of any fighter in MMA.

[Mongo]

Well, Boxing is much bigger internationally and amongst the ethnic folk. A mid-level pro boxing card was able to sell out an 8K arena in the middle of Nebraska in a meat packing town.

so it is like soccer. boring and no one white gives a ****?:D

[Mongo]

The heavyweight fight was free on HBO because it was being held in Germany and shown on PPV throughout Europe. By all accounts Klitschko and Haye each earned over $15 million from this fight, which again absolutely destroys any salary of any fighter in MMA.

you already said Dana has the better business model for himself, thus shafting the fighters.

fighters' income does not equal popularity. 15 mil? was that the before fight agreement, or see how much we made from PPV then figure up how much we make?

[mgsooner]

I guess I'm just wondering how they can afford to pay the fighters that much in a "dead" sport? Are they running a charity?

[Mongo]

yes

[Blue]

The inability to get Mayweather and Pacqiao in the ring also gives boxing another black eye.

I still like boxing more.

[StoopTroup]

Boxing has done a very poor job of keeping Fans interested and have allowed greed to interfere with the purity of the sport. By selling it off to HBO and not pushing the sport like Wrestling or UFC has by building up the Championship Fights with free preliminary fights and weight classes they have failed to keep their fan base.

I could care less about Boxing and UFC has taken it's place.

[mgsooner]

Here's the thing: you can't take your personal perspective and use that to bury a sport. I have known fighters that have fought on the undercard of "free" HBO shows that have been paid 500K. By comparison in one of Brock Lesnar's most recent fights he Earned 500K for participating in the main event of a UFC PPV. That tells me either Dana White is running a sweat shop or boxing isn't quite as "dead" as some believe it to be.

[StoopTroup]

Here's the thing: you can't take your personal perspective and use that to bury a sport. I have known fighters that have fought on the undercard of "free" HBO shows that have been paid 500K. By comparison in one of Brock Lesnar's most recent fights he Earned 500K for participating in the main event of a UFC PPV. That tells me either Dana White is running a sweat shop or boxing isn't quite as "dead" as some believe it to be.

Again if you don't want the sport to go the way of horse racing and only cover to or three events a year it's what ever they want to do. I grew up watching boxing on Wide World of Sports and getting to know and follow the boxers. These days you don't even know who these guys are.

Kimbo Slice created himself via the Internet. If he'd have waited for Boxing he would be bouncing in a bar.

[nighttrain12]

HBO is not free by the way. It cost anywhere from 12 to 17 dollars a month though you also get lots of other movies and other special shows. If you have the time to watch it, its really a pretty good deal for the price.

[Collier11]

Here's the thing: you can't take your personal perspective and use that to bury a sport. I have known fighters that have fought on the undercard of "free" HBO shows that have been paid 500K. By comparison in one of Brock Lesnar's most recent fights he Earned 500K for participating in the main event of a UFC PPV. That tells me either Dana White is running a sweat shop or boxing isn't quite as "dead" as some believe it to be.

UFC has a good business model, boxing doesnt...as far as fans caring...these UFC fighters (atleast up to this point) dont sell out for the money and have one fight a year, they usually have 3-4 fights a year and they are told who they will fight so there is no fight ducking. They are on a year to year contract in most cases

[mgsooner]

UFC has a good business model, boxing doesnt...as far as fans caring...these UFC fighters (atleast up to this point) dont sell out for the money and have one fight a year, they usually have 3-4 fights a year and they are told who they will fight so there is no fight ducking. They are on a year to year contract in most cases

They don't "sell out for the money" because that's not an option for them. They currently exist in a monopoly. Dana White basically says "this is how much I'm going to pay you and this is who you're going to fight. Don't like it? There's the door." Unfortunately that is not a model that will stand the test of time. I guarantee you that 10 or 15 years from now the UFC will not stand alone as the only major promotion in MMA. In some ways it is a catch-22 for the UFC: the better they do their job, the more the sport grows, the more they're going to have to change how they do business.

As I said earlier the UFC model is great for Dana White and great for the fans, sh*tty as hell for the fighters. I've noticed that recently some major MMA fighters have started to realize this and have publicly questioned why they just earned less than $1 mil to participate in the main event of a major MMA event while boxers appearing in PPV main events regularly earn millions and millions.

I'm certainly not going to begrudge anyone whose profession is fighting (boxing or MMA) from trying to make as much money for themselves as humanly possible. These guys are honestly putting their lives on the line every single time they step in the ring or cage.

[sappstuf]

UFC has a good business model, boxing doesnt...as far as fans caring...these UFC fighters (atleast up to this point) dont sell out for the money and have one fight a year, they usually have 3-4 fights a year and they are told who they will fight so there is no fight ducking. They are on a year to year contract in most cases

When you are putting your body, which has a limited amount of damage it can take, on the line, you SHOULD be selling out for the money.

[Collier11]

and thats fine for them, but no one cares about boxing anymore...which Im sure they dont care

[Collier11]

They don't "sell out for the money" because that's not an option for them. They currently exist in a monopoly. Dana White basically says "this is how much I'm going to pay you and this is who you're going to fight. Don't like it? There's the door." Unfortunately that is not a model that will stand the test of time. I guarantee you that 10 or 15 years from now the UFC will not stand alone as the only major promotion in MMA. In some ways it is a catch-22 for the UFC: the better they do their job, the more the sport grows, the more they're going to have to change how they do business.

As I said earlier the UFC model is great for Dana White and great for the fans, sh*tty as hell for the fighters. I've noticed that recently some major MMA fighters have started to realize this and have publicly questioned why they just earned less than $1 mil to participate in the main event of a major MMA event while boxers appearing in PPV main events regularly earn millions and millions.

I'm certainly not going to begrudge anyone whose profession is fighting (boxing or MMA) from trying to make as much money for themselves as humanly possible. These guys are honestly putting their lives on the line every single time they step in the ring or cage.


I def foresee the UFC fight payouts going up over the years but the UFC would have to have some major missteps to lose ground, they are taking over the mma game currently

[Scott D]

I def foresee the UFC fight payouts going up over the years but the UFC would have to have some major missteps to lose ground, they are taking over the mma game currently

srsly, shouldn't congress be investigating them instead of the bcs since they have 'actual championships'? ;)

[Scott D]

as for Boxing....say it's dead all you want, but the ppv ratings are still good enough. The problem it's suffering in the USA right now is that 9 out of 10 of the top fighters that people know of aren't American..be it the advent of MMA, or kids gravitating to other sports it's the truth of the matter. Boxing still matters, and people still watch it...it's just not the "shiny new toy" that UFC is, at least until anti-trust suits go up against it, and an eventual investigation by the DoJ.

[Peach Fuzz]

You want to compare what the pros make on any given match? why dont you do a check and compare the whole mma vs. boxing earnings? Honestly, do you think fans give a flying **** what GSP or Pach made last bout? Shall we go on into merchandise sales? Tap-Out sales to 17 year old mexican boys alone is probably more than boxing.. just my O